Hair accessory

ABSTRACT

A hair accessory includes an elastic member with two ends threaded through openings in a locking member such that a loop is formed between a central portion of the elastic member and the locking member to accommodate a user&#39;s hair. The locking member is movable relative to the elastic member to change a size of the loop to accommodate more or less hair, as desired.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/581,971 entitled HAIR ACCESSORY filed Dec. 30, 2011, the entire content of which is hereby incorporate by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to an adjustable hair accessory. In particular, the present application relates to a hair accessory that is adjustable via a locking mechanism to accommodate different amounts of user hair.

2. Related art

Various products are available to allow a user to hold their hair back away from their face. These products however tend to be unreliable and/or awkward to use. Further, different products are typically only effective for limited amounts of hair.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a hair accessory that avoids these and other problems.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable and easy to use hair accessory.

A hair accessory in accordance with an embodiment of the present application includes an elastic member including a first end and a second end, with a central portion connecting the first end and second end and a locking member, connected to the first end and second end of the elastic member such that a loop is formed between the locking member and the central portion of the elastic member to receive user hair, the locking element movable between an unlocked position in which the locking member slides along the elastic member to change a size of the loop and a locked position in which the locking member is substantially secured to the elastic member at a substantially fixed position.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention, which refers to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of a hair accessory in accordance with an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 2 shows a more detailed view of the locking mechanism of the hair accessory of FIG. 1 in an unlocked position.

FIG. 3 shows a more detailed view of the locking mechanism of the hair accessory of FIG. 1 in a locked position.

FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of the hair accessory of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of a hair accessory in accordance with the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

An exemplary embodiment of a hair accessory 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present application is illustrated in FIG. 1. The accessory 10 preferably includes an elastic member 12 including two ends 12 a, 12 b that are threaded through a locking member 14. The locking member 14 is movable relative to the elastic member 12 to vary a size of a loop 16 formed between a central portion 12 c of the elastic member and the locking member. A user's hair is preferably positioned in the loop 16 such that it is held in place by the accessory 10.

The elastic member 12 may be made of an elastic material such as rubber. In an embodiment, the elastic member 12 may simply be made of rope or string, however. The two ends 12 a, 12 b of the elastic member 12 are threaded through the openings 14 a (See FIGS. 2-4) extending through the locking member 14. The locking member 14 is preferably releasably locked into place relative to the elastic member 12 to form the loop 16. The use of an elastic material allows for the size of the loop 16 to be expanded slightly to accommodate additional hair and to ensure that the hair is gripped strongly by the accessory 10. In the event that additional adjustment of the loop size is necessary, the locking member 14 is released to allow it to be moved relative to the elastic member 12. That is, the locking member 14 may slide up and down the elastic member 12 to vary the size of the loop 16.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2-4, for example, the locking member 14 preferably includes inner member 30 mounted in an outer body 32. The inner member 30 is movable with respect to the outer body from an unlocked position (See FIG. 2) to a locked position (See FIG. 3). The openings 14 a are formed through the outer body 32. That is, while not explicitly shown, the openings 14 a continue through the body 32 and through the bottom of the body. Openings 14 c are similarly formed through the inner member 30. In the unlocked position (see FIG. 2), the openings 14 a are aligned with the openings 14 c such that the locking member 14 slides easily along the elastic member 12. In the locked position (see FIG. 3), the openings 14 a are misaligned with the openings 14 c, such that the locking member 14 cannot slide easily along the elastic member 12 and is held substantially in place relative to the elastic member. While the openings 14 a and 14 c are illustrated as pairs of openings, fewer or additional openings may be used, if desired.

A spring 34 is provided in the outer body 30 and biases the inner member 30 in the locked position. That is, the spring biases the outer body into the locked position with the openings 14 a, 14 c out of alignment such that the locking member 14 is substantially secured in place on the elastic member 12. A user may press the inner member 30 inward against the biasing force of the spring 34 to move the inner member 30 into the unlocked position and allow movement of the locking member 14 relative to the elastic member 12.

In a preferred embodiment the ends 12 a, 12 b of the elastic member 12 are thicker than the rest of the elastic member 12 to prevent the ends of the elastic member from sliding through the openings 14 a, 14 c. As a result, the elastic member 12 is not easily removed completely from the locking member 14. This prevents the elastic member 12 and locking member 14 from being separated, and thus, reduces the chance of accidently losing either element. In one embodiment, the elastic member 12 may simply be manufactured with wider ends. Alternatively, a knot may be tied at the ends 12 a, 12 b of the elastic member 12 to provide the additional thickness. In another embodiment, a blocker such as a bead 9 or other decorative element, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, may be provided at each end 12 a, 12 b of the elastic member. The bead 9 of FIG. 1 is illustrated as a substantially spherical shaped, however, it may be any desired shape or design. Any suitable means for thickening the ends 12 a, 12 b of the elastic member 12 may be used, however.

In operation, when a user wishes to put their hair up, for example, they gather a portion of their hair and pass it through the loop 16. As is noted above, the elastic member 12 expands slightly to accommodate the hair and hold it tightly. In the event that additional space is needed to accommodate the hair, the locking member 14 may be adjusted to make the loop 16 larger as described above. Naturally, the locking member 14 may slide up the elastic member 12 as well, to reduce the size of the loop 16 for a firmer hold on the hair. The user can easily make these adjustments by depressing the inner member 30 of the locking member 14 and moving it into the unlocked position to allow free movement of the locking member on the elastic member 12. Releasing the inner member 30 allows it to return to the locked position, by virtue of the biasing force provided by spring 34 and lock the accessory 10 in place on the user's hair.

While the locking member 14 is illustrated as having an hourglass shape in FIGS. 1-4, other shapes may be used. These other shapes include, but are not limited to cylindrical, circular or spherical, rectangular, triangular, etc. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a hair accessory 110 with a locking member 114 having a substantially cylindrical shape, for example. Aside from the shape of the locking mechanism 114, the accessory 110 operates in a manner substantially similar to that of the accessory 10. That is the locking member 114 is movable relative to elastic member 112 to adjust the size of the loop 116, as desired.

Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hair accessory comprising: an elastic member including a first end and a second end, with a central portion connecting the first end and second end; and a locking member, connected to the first end and second end of the elastic member such that a loop is formed between the locking member and the central portion of the elastic member to receive user hair, the locking element movable between an unlocked position in which the locking member slides along the elastic member to change a size of the loop and a locked position in which the locking member is substantially secured to the elastic member at a substantially fixed position.
 2. The hair accessory of claim 1, wherein the locking member further comprises: an inner element including at least one inner opening configured to receive the first and second ends of the elastic member; and an outer body including at least one outer opening configured to receive the first and second ends of the elastic member, the inner element mounted in the outer body such that the inner element is slidable relative to the outer body between the locked and unlocked positions.
 3. The hair accessory of claim 2, wherein the inner opening is aligned with the outer opening when the locking element is in the unlocked position such that the locking member slides along the elastic member easily.
 4. The hair accessory of claim 3, wherein the inner opening is out of alignment with the outer opening when the locking element is in the locked position to prevent the locking member from sliding along the elastic member.
 5. The hair accessory of claim 4, further comprising a biasing element positioned in the outer body and configured to bias the locking element into the locked position.
 6. The hair accessory of claim 5, wherein the biasing element is a spring positioned in the outer body.
 7. The hair accessory of claim 2, wherein the first and second ends of the elastic member include end portions, respectively, that are wider than the at least one inner opening and the at least one outer opening.
 8. The hair accessory of claim 2, wherein the inner element includes at least two inner openings and the outer body includes at least two outer openings and the elastic member is configured such that the first end of the elastic member passes through a first inner opening and a first outer opening and the second end of the elastic member passes through a second inner opening and a second outer opening.
 9. The hair accessory of claim 8, wherein the first and second inner openings are aligned with the first and second outer openings, respectively, when the locking member is in the unlocked position such that the locking member slides along the elastic member to change a size of the loop.
 10. The hair accessory of claim 9, wherein the first and second inner openings are out of alignment with the first and second outer openings, respectively, when the locking member is in the locked position to prevent the locking member from sliding along the elastic member.
 11. The hair accessory of claim 10, further comprising a biasing element positioned in the outer body and configured to bias the locking element into the locked position.
 12. The hair accessory of claim 11, wherein the biasing element is a spring positioned in the outer body.
 13. The hair accessory of claim 8, where wherein the first and second ends of the elastic member, respectively, include end portions that are wider than the at least two inner openings and the at least two outer openings. 